Disclaimer-I don't own Digimon.

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Putting The Pieces Together

-------------------------------------

Junpei's hand shot in the air. "I'm confused," he announced, staring straight at Marise.

Slowly, more hands rose into the air until Hideki, shooting his hand into the air without a care, declared, "Hey, I'm your son, and I don't get it. What's more is, aren't you supposed to be at the Japan point?"

"That isn't Marise!" Kouichi found himself yelling. Startled by his own outburst, he tried to shrink into the crowd, covering his mouth as he did.

"Correct," the soft voice replied. "I'm merely a shadow."

"Like...Anti-Duskmon."

"Again, correct." His gaze fell on Rai. "I believe it's time to explain, don't you?" Nodding, Rai looked up and met the shadow's eyes, waiting for him to continue. "If Marise was to perish, Seraphimon would perish. It would be too dangerous to just wait for another Seraphimon to be reborn, so Marise split himself. Darkness and light. Sound...familiar?" Eyes turned to the twins.

The twins exchanged glances and Kouji asked, "So...the Marise in Japan is light...?"

"Actually, no. I am."

"Huuuuh? No, you know what? Just stop! I thought shadow meant...like...digimon shadow!" Kouji shouted pointedly, glaring at Marise...rather, his shadow. He wasn't sure what to call him anymore.

"The digimon shadow is what you said it was: a digimon shadow. Shadows aren't limited to one meaning, just as other words aren't, Kouji."

Before anyone else could speak up, Tomoki murmured, "So basically...Marise split shadow and real...darkness and light? Then..." He looked up, triumphant. "Then that must have happened in the Digital World!"

An amused nod confirmed this thought, and Tomoki jumped up excitedly. The shadow murmured, "What resulted was really a three-way split. With two halves separated, Marise's spirit was left in a sort of limbo.

"Similarily, Seraphimon was allowed to stay, but Duskmon, who was never meant to exist, was brought back. For Marise's spirit, what you named, 'Anti-Duskmon,' was created, remaining in the pit of Duskmon's mind, his own peronal limbo. When Duskmon possessed you, Kouji, your two minds formed as one, and what was his became yours. In other words, Anti-Duskmon was revealed, as was the book.

"This, however, created an unfortunate balance. Duskmon being defeated resulted in a loss of two digital shadows. And so now, Lucemon will more likely than not take advantage of this imbalance that allows him more power. If anything, he was waiting for this," the shadow concluded.

Hideki folded his arms, a serious look gracing his face. "And this is bad for us. If the halves of Marise disappear, the spirit goes bye-bye and we're screwed without a Seraphimon. Oh great," he muttered, now looking grumpy. "Those stupid royal pains just had to kill Angemon..."

"That's not the problem," the shadow said quietly.

Everyone fell silent until Izumi snapped, "Then what is? And why can't you explain everything at one time? Is it so hard for your pathetic skulls to understand that we can't keep up with all the changes? And-"

She was forced to stop as Takuya came from behind to cover her mouth with a hand, telling her in a hushed voice, "Calm down, Izumi. Let him explain and then yell at him."

"No," Kako muttered, looking sourly at the shadow. "I want to understand. Sad thing is, I bet the least informed in this room is me and the most informed is Kouji. I have every right to know. We all do. This is our home, isn't it? Our planet. So tell me, what the hell is going on?"

"At this point in time," Rai started, but stopped just as quickly, hesitating as all eyes fell on her. "A-at this point in time, what we really need to be worried about is Marise leaving. Splitting your soul is easy enough, but..."

Hideki's eyes widened as if he understood what was coming next. Seeing this, Kako snapped, "BUT?"

"But this comes with a great repercussion."

Before Rai could continue, Hideki spared her, explaining to them, "Which would be that putting the two halves back requires great..." Sheepishly, he rubbed the back of his head. "Man, I wish Ichiro were here. He'd put the words in my mouth."

Kouichi frowned, then turned to look at Kako, one eyebrow raised. "Hey...I just remembered...Ichiro's supposed knowledge never really helped us," he muttered.

"Oh...yeah...and the jewelry was pointless, too, even if it's a late birthday present," Kako added.

"WOULD YOU TWO STAY ON THE TOPIC?" Hideki thundered. When they just stared at him, he cleared his throat and continued, "Anyway, Ichiro's pretty quizzical. You got me there."

"Now who's going off topic?" Kako snapped.

"It strains the spirit," Rai muttered.

Everyone turned to her. "Whaaaat?" everyone chorused.

Rai resisted the urge to slap her forehead. Through gritted teeth, she snapped, "For goodness sakes, pay attention! To put two halves back into a whole strains the spirit. Chances are it may not work, or the spirit will cease to exist."

"And if it ceases to exist, Seraphimon ceases to exist," Marise's shadow finished calmly.

Junpei scratched his head. "Wow, how complicated. So this is up to Marise, then?"

"In a way. But there's more, huh?" Tomoki asked.

"STOP!" Shinya shouted.

"Keep going!" Takuya insisted.

"STOP!"

"GO!"

"No, I have a question," Shinya snapped, completely serious. "Why can't you just glue the two halves back together?"

"That requires spirit," Tomoki informed him.

Shinya shook his head. "No, I mean, think about it. Glue is weak, right? And um...from what I've heard, that Chaos junk binds or strings or whatevers the worlds, right? So why not use that?"

Silence.

"Are you sure you want to be a goggle brain, krill?" Kouichi asked, squatting down in front of Shinya and looking him straight in the eye. "I think you've got the potential to do a lot more than that."

Scratching the back of his head, Takuya nodded and murmured sheepishly, "He's got a point..."

"Can I be a bandana brain?" Shinya asked, sounding excited.

"JOB TAKEN!" Kouji snapped, glaring down at the younger boy and folding his arms. Then, looking at Rai and the shadow, he snapped, "Big deal. Chaos is better glue than spirit. So how do we do that when Lucemon is in control of Chaos?"

"Switch that," the shadow said dryly.

"Huh?"

"Chaos is in control of Lucemon."

"Wait...can we please go over this again?"

-------------------------------------

"Something wrong, Kanaye?" Ritsuo asked, noticing the boy was on edge.

Suppressing a growl, Kanaye jerked his head back. "She's following, isn't she?"

"Sadly, yes," Naoko answered, slapping her forehead at the sound of amazement from the other two boys as they looked behind them to find Ai persistently on their trail. "Honestly, people. Being a little more observant wouldn't hurt."

"You kidding? Any more, and I might die!" Ritsuo exclaimed.

Scowling, Fujitaka threw a glare at the older boy. "Shut it, Ritsuo."

"I'm speaking the whole truth here," he told her, "even when I say that I seriously think Ai's not much of a threat anymore."

"No...just a threat to my insanity," Kanaye muttered, wincing at the confused, "HUH?" that came from Ritsuo. "If she keeps bugging me, Ritsuo, I'm going to go insane. Sad thing is, you're in the same boat as Ai in this case."

"Ouch," Naoko and Fujitaka chorused.

But Ritsuo just grinned. "Hey, I'm just here to lighten the mood. Stop frowning. You're like bandana head." A pause. "Except...less stupid."

"He isn't stupid," Kanaye mumbled under his breath.

"Say again?"

Scowling, Kanaye said aloud, "Nothing. Hurry up. We'll be left behind."

"It's a dead end up ahead," Ai snapped.

"Like your head."

"Oh, very witty, Kanaye," the girl replied sourly. "Next thing we know, you'll be balancing on a ball and claiming you're a chimpanzee. Hurry up and admit it."

"Admit what?"

"That you beat me!"

"I know I did, now why do I have to admit it?" Kanaye sneered, turning around. His eyes glittered as he continued, "I don't have to, because it's pointless. I don't care if I beat you. I'm sure that pathetic brother of the goggle brain could have beat you with both eyes closed."

"That's a lie!"

Kanaye just laughed. "Lucemon gave you power, did he? He made you an overconfident blunder. He doesn't back up his words. I thought you knew."

"Liar!"

He just snorted and turned around once more. "Why, then, do tell, are you following me if you still revere Lucemon?"

"They're at it again," Ritsuo said in a sing-song voice.

Naoko just rolled her eyes and murmured, "Hurry up. I think we're at the end."

There was a cough of disbelief from the boy beside her. "Didn't Ritsuo say that five seconds after we started?" Fujitaka demanded.

"Well..."

"Thought so."

"But Ritsuo is..."

"Good point."

"Sheez, you kids these days. Arguing with your significant others," Ritsuo muttered under his breath. He folded his arms and exhaled sharply. "You all make me feel old."

-------------------------------------

"In summary, Marise split himself in two, though not literally, his spirit went into limbo, the same thing had to happen in the Digital World, but Duskmon is gone, so there's an imbalance. Shouldn't this give us the break, though?" Kouji demanded, leaning back against the wall as he looked at Rai. He didn't even want to talk to the shadow Marise. It was all too confusing for him to understand.

Kako shook her head. "Think of it this way. The heavier they are, the harder they fall," she told him.

"And minutes ago, you were complaining about how little you knew compared to me."

"We weren't the ones getting e-mails from Lucemon," Tomoki countered with a slight cough.

Silence filled the room. Turning to the younger boy and narrowing his eyes, Kouji asked quietly, "How?"

All eyes turned to a blushing Tomoki as he explained, "Lucemon sent me an e-mail. I went to Kako's house and called everyone up with her help."

Junpei just groaned and muttered under his breath, "Making me feel stupid..." No one paid him any heed.

"Well that makes sense why Lucemon was so easily able to trap Kouji," Rai mused. "Only thing is...how did he get Kouji's e-mail?"

Shrugging, Kouji murmured, "The only time I give my e-mail out is if someone needs to e-mail me or-"

"Or school," Kouichi murmured, grinning triumphantly. "I bet I'm right!"

"About what?"

Everyone looked over their shoulder, seeing Kanaye. "Uh...? Oh!" Kouichi mumbled, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly. "About Lucemon getting Kouji's e-mail through school! I kind of found it weird how there were feathers and Aizawa's office was completely trashed. There's been no computer since, right?"

"OH...never thought of it that way," Kako muttered. "Come to think of it...Gramps hardly touches the computer nowadays."

"It...kind of makes sense," Hideki admitted.

"Of course." Kanaye growled as the others stepped into the light. "Because...Lucemon is..."

"You wouldn't dare," a girl hissed.

"OH NO!" Kouichi and Takuya blurted, jumping back. "She's alive?"

"That's kind of harsh. Were you hoping otherwise?" Naoko asked with a smile.

Kouichi remained silent, gazing red-faced at his shoes. Takuya, on the other hand, cleared his throat and began, "Actually..."

Harumphing, Ai folded her arms and stepped in front of Kanaye. "You're all going to lose! Just wait and see!"

"You're one to talk, loser. Oh, that reminds me," Kanaye suddenly muttered, grabbing a hold of Ai's arm. "This needs to go."

"Wha-No!" she cried as he slipped off her wristband.

"Kimura!"

Kouichi turned to the other boy, startled. "Yeah...?" he asked, a confused look on his face.

"Sword."

"O-Okay..." Kouichi fumbled with his D-Tector, nearly cutting his arm off as the sword came out. Letting out a nervous laugh, he handed the sword to Kanaye. "Here..." This is kind of weird.

Kanaye snatched it out of Kouichi's hands and threw the wristband on the ground. In one smooth movement, the tip of the sword had shattered the crystal, scattering the shards everywhere.

"I've got one question for you, Kanaye..." Kouji suddenly said aloud, pushing through Junpei and Shinya and walking up in front of Kanaye. "Before...with the sword and the punching and such...was that just a result of being Devimon's shadow, or was it natural skill?"

Looking grumpy, Kanaye turned away and muttered, "I take no pride in being Devimon's shadow."

The bandana boy seemed to consider this. Turning away, he nodded. "Got it."

An awkward silence befell them.

"Alright, people. We can ignore Ai, and Fujitaka for the heck of it...maybe even Hideki. But right now, I think we need a few answers fr-where'd that shadow of Dad go...?" Kako suddenly asked, looking around the cave.

"Um...Kako," Rai started.

"I swear, he was right here!"

"Kako!"

"Right here!"

"Kako, Marise's other half...well...displaying it takes a lot of spirit power, I guess you could call it. That's why fusing the two halves is grueling work itself. You have to maintain the second half and glue the two halves together. It's like..." Rai looked around for help.

"Like gluing round pieces of wood together. You want to hold both up and glue them, and you don't want them rolling around," Kouji put in. "It gets messy, sometimes it even slides off. And you have to hold it a while before it's steady. That kind of power-"

"Not even Seraphimon has it," Rai concluded sadly.

Junpei spoke up before the silence could settle in again. "So...Chaos would be like a sort of...catalyst...?"

"Yes," Rai said. "You could say that. It-"

"Woah, woah! Is that Chemistry I'm hearing?" Takuya blurted. "Please, save me! I'm dying in Biology as it is!"

Shrugging, the older boy replied, "Only word I could think of."

"Some tenth grader you are!"

"Stay on track!" Izumi snapped, hitting the two over the head.

Rai let out a sigh. "It...won't necessarily not be used up, though. But..." She stopped again and stared at the ground. "For...what we need to accomplish, in actuality, we'll need a lot more than just Chaos. I'm not worried about Lucemon. I have faith that you can beat him, but..."

"Chaos is the real challenge?" Tomoki supplied.

Rai nodded. "Chaos is almost unchallengeable. It's a force of nature. You can't stop an earthquake. You can't stop a volcano. But...that's pretty much what we're trying to do."

Kouichi's eyes widened. His hands clenched, he asked quietly, "Has everything else...been a lie up to now?"

"What do you mean?" asked Rai, seeming genuinely surprised.

"Has this been some stupid sick amusement...? Duskmon...Kouji...setting those two against us...we all thought Lucemon was the real enemy! Or at least I did! Why did we have to suffer all of that if we just needed to get to Chaos? Did we need to wait for the Area to be set up? Did we-"

"Think about it, Kouichi," Hideki snapped. "Two months ago, you still couldn't wield a sword properly. And you want to know the truth? You still can't. Chaos can't be taken lightly. Hell, this world can't be taken lightly. This world, the Digital World...it's a big thing, twerp. For Chaos to have control of both these worlds and more...Chaos isn't just any old enemy. So what if you beat Lucemon before? This is our world. Even with the Area being from the Digital World, digimon are still weak. Lucemon has been planning this for years. We only knew about it a year ago. Now do you think we shouldn't have had to suffer through 'all of that'?"

"No..."

"There we go."

"But did you have to spin lies...?"

"We didn't."

"Then why couldn't you just tell us the truth right away? Why not say, 'Hey, Lucemon isn't the real enemy! Chaos is!' or 'We're going to say bye-bye to the Digital World after we win!' or-" Kouichi choked on his words. "Why couldn't you just be straightforward?" he cried.

Kako cleared her throat. "I could say the same to you, Kouichi. Heck, I could say the same to all of you." Her eyes darted from person to person until they fell on Kanaye. "But, you know...I think it was just part of the deal."

Scowling, Kanaye looked away and snapped, "Stop staring at me!"

"Actually, I was wondering when you'd confess that I'm better than you."

"In your dreams!"

"Stop getting off track," Kouji growled, looking annoyed. "Look, you've all got a point, but quit with the dramatics. Let's face the facts and now. The Digital World will be destroyed if we win. If we lose, we'll be destroyed along with all other dimensions out there. We have to beat Chaos, not Lucemon. We can't lose hope, and we have to keep our will strong! Who the hell do you guys think you are, complaining like that?

"Kako," he snapped, glaring at the girl. "You think you're ignorant? What about all the people living on the Earth ignorantly? They are less informed you, believe me. And Kouichi! Give me a break! Straightforward? We're only human. Since when are we straightforward?"

"Has anyone else noticed he's only been picking on Kako and Kouichi so far?" Takuya asked aloud.

"Don't worry! I'll get to you," Kouji muttered. "Look, Ai, Kanaye beat you. Accept it. Why are you still bugging us about Lucemon? We don't care? And Kanaye, give us a break from your 'I'm so superior' attitude, because you aren't. Fujitaka can stop glaring at me, and I think we can all work this out together, Naoko. Stop acting like Ms. Smarty. Ritsuo and Junpei...you two are the laziest people I know. The ones who actually have brains, but don't use them. Even Shinya's using his, and he's younger than all of us! What about Tomoki? How is it that he can contribute more than all of us pooled together. And look at you, Takuya! Some leader you are. Goggle head-"

"We've all got our own complaints, Kouji," Izumi interrupted, glaring at the bandana boy fiercely. "But you don't see us complaining, do you?"

Kouji returned the glare. "I'm not done. Why is it, Takuya, that Izumi has to stop you from getting off track? And Rai and Hideki - stop your arguing. We know you two like each other, for goodness sakes, why can't you just admit it? You're worse than Kako and Kouichi! The only way we'll win is if we work together. So listen, would you?" He drew a breath. "I know, I'm the most at fault here. But I'm trying to learn from my mistakes. I don't want you guys to waste time and make the same mistakes. Give me a break here and just let me..."

"How come...you didn't complain about Piximon?" Kako asked, gazing at the digimon who had fallen asleep in her arms.

"He's asleep," Kouji muttered, collapsing on the ground. He lay back, staring at the dark ceiling. "Listen...I've thought about it. I don't understand, even now. I know there's a lot we don't understand, and the blanks can be filled if we just share our information. Let's just think, okay? Start from the beginning."

"The puzzle," Kouichi muttered.

"Puzzle...?" everyone echoed, gazing at the older twin curiously.

Nodding, Kouichi explained, "I figured...I could make this analogous to a puzzle. A really big confusing one, too. Because...think about it. So many pieces can fit in one place, but only one will work. Right now, more than ever, I want to put it together. And now." He let his eyes sweep around the room, meeting everyone's eyes but Kouji's. Finally, Kouichi sat on the ground beside his brother. "Then...let's start."

"We don't have-" Rai started, but Hideki lifted a hand, covering her mouth.

"The kid...he's got a point," Hideki mumbled, letting his gaze fall to the ground. "They're...both twerps...but...they're smart twerps."

Rai let out an exasperated sigh as she pushed his hand away. "Fine. I'll give you ten minutes tops," she snapped.

No one paid any attention.

"So this started when?"

"Lucemon. As soon as you all destroyed him in the Digital World, somehow he managed to skirt through the entire shadow system created by Chaos and enter a new host with knowledge on the Digital World. Up to this time I had to prepare with Kanaye for this moment. I'm not sure about anyone else. Naoko, Fujitaka and Ritsuo were less informed. I don't know if they cared," Ai put in.

"We didn't," Ritsuo agreed.

Fujitaka snorted, "He didn't. Naoko and I minded very much, actually."

"But it was nice," Naoko insisted. "Anyway, we joined online a year after Lucemon came back. We only met Kanaye and Ai this school year. Technically...over the summer, but..."

"They didn't do much. It was mostly Ritsuo and myself on the computer, trying to input the codes to bring up the Area. The codes are too complex to understand. It would take hours, so we'll skip talking about them. Just know, they brought up the Area. Unfortunately, you can't just input the codes any old way. It has to be done in a specific place, by a specific person. In Hawaii, it was Lucemon. In Japan, Ritsuo. I made sure that Grumblemon, controlling Shinya, would input the code for the third point," Kanaye explained.

"In the meantime, we were enjoying a piece of peace. Or...you all were. I moved, came back. Psh. Mom died...Dad...er...Gen-"

Kouichi interrupted Kako and said quickly, "Mr. Sakai moved back, Hideki tortured us, Kako went ballistic several times throughout the year, and Kouji and I had our fights." He took a moment to breath before continuing, "And I had several spouts with Ogata. I figured out Ms. Kawai knew about the Digital World, suspecting Mr. Aizawa had a part in some of this, discovered Kako knew practically all of them, and was training with Mr. Saito, also Marise, who gave me his diary to read. Odd, but okay."

"I got recruited by Kanaye," Takuya mumbled, glaring at Kanaye who returned an indifferent look.

Izumi frowned. "I really did nothing..."

"I slept! Oh...and I got caught up in several things because of Ritsuo." Junpei stuck his tongue out at Ritsuo, who scowled.

"I gave you the tickets!" the second boy snapped.

After a while of thinking, Tomoki exclaimed, "I got Bokomon's book from Yutaka! And Ichiro helped me decipher it."

"Uhh...I..." Shinya frowned and scratched the back of his head. "I...got tied to an armchair, recited all the negative things Takuya said about Kanaye, got to wear Takuya's goggles, got to talk to Lowemon and Duskmon! They're cool. Um...and...I...got to argue with a digimon that was in my mind! But what I really want to do-"

"We don't care," Kouji snapped, glaring as Shinya stuck his tongue out at the bandana boy. "Okay, while you all were off skipping happily in a field of flowers, I actually did some research. Stole Dad's laptop, claimed it for my own, and began searching for Lucemon after hearing Kako's explanation about the shadow system. That, and because of the feathers and that weird dream. Something didn't add up. I mean, how could Aizawa, of all people, read my mind? Unless he installed a chip to make me think wh-"

"ON TRACK!" everyone spat.

"Right. I eventually caught onto an email...some...LuceLuceUberLuce. No, not really. I just want to point out it was lame. It-"

"It was Lucemon666. Is it really that bad?" Ai snapped.

"WHOSE SIDE ARE YOU ON?"

"Right...shutting up."

Drawing a breath, Kouji exhaled slowly. "Okay. Anyway, he sent me these really odd e-mails. A whole bunch of sites of Digital History. Prophecies, excerpts...a few names. Pictures...he sent a lot of pictures. Remember that one day in class, Kako? You figured out the third point was in the water. He sent me pictures of the three points, and I plotted it out. It made no sense then, but...remember Cherubimon? That triangle on his forehead formed by the spikes? This area...if you look at it in a certain way, it looks like that."

"Really? Awesome!"

"Um, right. Back on track, that was the end of my spying career. The last e-mail Lucemon sent me told me to go outside. I got stuck with Duskmon controlling me."

"Makes sense," Kouichi muttered.

"Really?" Kako asked, brightening.

"No. I'm still confused. I think we're missing a lot more. Somehow, Ichiro and Ryu are brought into this. And Chaos. And Lucemon."

"Ichiro helped me with Bokomon's book!"

"Ryu gave me..." Kouichi's eyes widened. "Uhh..."

"What do you mean 'Uhh...?'" Kako demanded.

"I...actually don't know what he gave me. I mean...it's here, but...I don't think I'm allowed to use it right now," Kouichi admitted sheepishly.

Kako just smiled sweetly. "Please...?"

Reddening, Kouichi looked from one side to the other for help. "Uhmm..."

"Come on, Kouichi," the girl begged.

"Don't." Kanaye opened his eyes, which Kouichi realized had been closed. "You'll know when to use it."

"O-Okay...?" Shrugging, Kouichi continued, "Anyway, Chaos is in control of Lucemon. Has it always been that way?"

"Think of Chaos like a drug," Kanaye said quietly. "Lucemon's addicted, and Chaos won't loosen it's hold. But Chaos is also living. So I suppose it's more seduction than addiction."

Izumi and Kako made a face. "EW."

"Yes, it's perverted, but who cares? Chaos offers power. Lucemon wants power. He offers himself to get that power."

"That defeats the entire purpose," Fujitaka snorted.

"True...but Lucemon doesn't care. He's a disgusting pig."

"KANAYE," Ai growled.

"Again," Kouji snapped, "whose side are you on?"

"S-Still!"

"Shut up!"

Ai pouted and looked away while Fujitaka said, "Kanaye has a point. But he's a well armed hog. He's got a great offense that makes up for his defense, and just think about all the digimon under his command."

"Which would be...?"

"Um...I think he only has the Skullsatamon brothers now," Naoko informed them.

A smirk lit Kouji's face. "Them? Again?"

"Hehe...we've got two sets of brothers ready to whack them back to their senses. Leave them to us!" Takuya exclaimed, grinning from ear to ear.

"What? Us? I have conditions, though!" Shinya snapped.

"What?"

"Do I get to play your hour of videogames for an entire month along with my own?"

"GO GET A BANDANA!"

"HELL NO!" Kouji snapped. "By the way, Takuya said yes."

"Oh, okay!" Shinya said, grinning mischievously himself.

Kouichi let out a small sigh. Half the puzzle done. He felt himself fall back just as Kouji sat up. "Alright...Lucemon...by now...should be expecting Kanaye turning against him. We've got numbers, but we need strength, too. Kouji was right...we need a strong will..."

"Right. And we do."

"Don't get overconfident, krill. Have you ever read World Domination for Dummies?" Kouichi snapped. "Overconfidence leads to one's undoing."

"HEY!" Kako snapped. "You complained when I was going to buy that book!"

"Well, duh. You'd take over the world, ruin it, get overconfident, and then who would clean up your mess?" the boy snapped. "The point is if we get overconfident, there's no chance we can beat even Lucemon."

"So what do we do? Act all modest? 'Oh, Lucemon, you're right. I can't move this boulder!'" Fujitaka sneered.

"Shut it," Kouji snapped. "He's saying we can't get overconfident and we can't grovel. We need to believe in ourselves."

"Sadly...easier said than done," Rai murmured quietly.

While everyone stared at her in shock, Izumi demanded, "What do you mean? We've done this plenty times before! Come on, Hideki, you don't honestly-"

Coughing, Hideki looked away. Hearing Izumi's annoyed growl, he sighed and turned to them. "Look, I'll be honest with you all. It is going to be difficult. You can't get overconfident, you can't be modest. You have to believe in yourself, and you have to believe in everyone else. Heck, you might not need to; maybe believing in yourself is all you need. What I would want, being a digimon shadow for one of you...is for all of you to not only believe in yourself, but each other. Out there, fighting Lucemon, there's no way we can afford to be jealous of Kouichi because he gets to beat up Lucemon, or Tomoki because he's smart. We can't get mad because Kanaye got the last punch. Your hearts have to work together. You think you're up to it, or do we need one last training round?" he asked, meeting every single one of their eyes.

The twins exchanged grins. Sitting up, Kouichi and Kouji said aloud, "Yeah!"

"You two don't count!" Hideki snapped.

"What about us?" Shinya asked, pointing to Takuya, who was currently hovering over the younger Kanbara, trying to get the goggles off the younger boy's head.

Hideki winced as Takuya came crashing down on Shinya. "Umm...we...might need some work there."

-------------------------------------

"So what's this about?" Kouichi asked, looking around at everyone else. Rai was holding Piximon, glaring at the pink digimon as she covered his mouth. He's going to get it someday...I kind of preferred the old Piximon. Sighing, he turned his attention back to Hideki. "I mean...is sitting in a circle really supposed to help us?"

"Yes, now hush!" Hideki snapped. "I'm trying to think. I mean, look at this! I'm lacking all sorts of equipment. All I brought was rope..." Hideki growled and gazed at the pile of rope behind him. "Fine. Who wants to help me chop up rope, first of all? Yeah, twerp two, you should help me with that. Lobomon could use a workout," he muttered, gesturing for Kouji to come over.

"Right." Kouji withdrew his D-Tector. "Spirit Evolution!"

Silence.

"Uhh...spirit...evolution?" the bandana boy tried again, staring at his D-Tector.

"Okay...maybe it's a bit too early. Twerp three is useless...twerp one is out of the question. Can't waste good swords. Twerp four'll just burn them. Twerp five can't do anything. Twerp six and seven...Tomoki can! Korikakumon," Hideki announced, beaming down on Tomoki.

"One question before I do. Who are Twerps four through seven?" Tomoki asked, looking confused.

"I forgot twerp eight. They're the boys Kako knows."

"Why Shinya...? And why didn't you call me a twerp?"

Hideki stopped and looked around, noticing all eyes were on him (especially that of those who he named 'twerps'). "Uh...because Shinya's a brat and you know Ichiro. Okay, keep moving!" he said, waving to Tomoki while trying to look completely calm despite the deathglares from the Kanbara brothers.

"Gotcha."

Five minutes later, Hideki was counting the pieces of rope. "Eight...and one long piece to spare. Neat," he muttered, tossing each small strand of rope in a different direction. "Okay. We're pairing you up. Rai, care to do the honors?"

"Right." Rai tried to hide the thin smile that crept on her lips. "Shinya and Takuya, Ai and Kako, Kouji and Kanaye, Kouichi and Ritsuo, Naoko and Izumi, and finally, Fujitaka and Junpei."

"Wh-what about me...?" Tomoki asked, paling considerably.

"Um...sadly, although I'd love to be your partner...I'm stuck with Piximon. So Hideki will be your partner."

"B-but that defeats the purpose of the exercise!" Hideki screamed.

Snorting, Rai told him, "Nonsense. You could do with a little exercise yourself."

A sharp exhale from Hideki silenced everyone. "Okay. Fine. We're going to play a certain three-legged game. Lame, I know, but think about it. This isn't fun anymore, kids. This is training. How many people can honestly run a three-legged race? And this is what we're aiming for...er...except Rai. I'm sure she and Piximon can laugh Lucemon to death."

"Still not getting the point here," Fujitaka grumbled.

"Shut up, then. We're going to put an even bigger twist to this." Hideki grinned. "One partner faces one way, and the other faces the other way. Now tie the legs next to each other together with the rope, and tight."

"What are you? Some trainer!" Kouji snapped, reaching out his hand to grab a hold of the rope. "Honestly, even-" He stopped, seeing Kanaye's hand on the other end. "No way. You'll knot it up."

"I'm sure you've got better knots in mind," Kanaye countered.

"I DEMAND A CHANGE IN PARTNERS! MS. KAWAI! LET PIXIMON BE MY PARTNER!"

"Hell no, twerp two," Hideki snapped. "There's a point to this. You're with the person you're least compatible with...or...you should be."

"What about Naoko and Izumi?" Takuya snapped.

Hideki looked from Rai to the goggle boy. "Um...Rai...Rai did it!" he blurted, paying attention to the rope and tying it around his leg and Tomoki's. "Okay, everyone got the rope tied?"

"NO," came the shouts of almost everyone.

"Um, Hideki, is it supposed to be this easy?" Kouichi asked as he and Ritsuo walked over, Kouichi facing away from Hideki while Ritsuo faced the young man. "Because...honestly..."

Reddening, Hideki muttered, "Y-you two are just special. And lucky. And semi-compatible." He ignored Tomoki's pained howl and continued wrapping the rope around their legs again and again.

"Then...why...?"

"STOP ASKING QUESTIONS!"

"I'll answer that," Rai offered. Clearing her throat, she mumbled in a quiet voice, "Um...although you and Fujitaka would have been the perfect contrast...Ritsuo and Junpei couldn't go together because they're pretty close. So...you have to settle for this."

"Cool. How's it going, Junpei?" Ritsuo shouted, grinning.

Junpei returned the grin and a thumbs up. He and Fujitaka slowly made their way over to Kouichi and Ritsuo until Fujitaka, who had been walking backwards, tripped over a rock.

Taken aback, Ritsuo coughed. "Okay...I guess this'll take a while."

-------------------------------------

"Alright everyone? Good!" Hideki said, trying to sound cheerful. The slight hint of distress in his voice was enough to voice everyone else's. "Now to the next part..."

"Next part?" Shinya and Takuya snapped, both making their way to Hideki somewhat awkwardly. "What do you mean next part?"

"H-Hey...it's working already...!" Hideki laughed, holding up both hands in defense. Then, in a high squeaky voice: "Rai, help me!"

"My goodness, I though he already went through this," Kako muttered, shaking her head and letting out an exasperated sigh.

Kouichi watched the Kanbaras hop on their unattached legs, hoping to catch up to Hideki and Tomoki (both of whom were running as fast as their three legs could take them). As somehow, their hopping became more random than unified, and both brothers fell, Kouichi looked at Rai and asked, "How long do we have?"

Silence descended, quick and swift to leave as it came. "Th-the thing is, Kouichi," Rai mumbled, lowering her gaze to the floor. "I know...we had hoped...to piece that puzzle together properly. You're still missing a few pieces we can't fill in..."

The boy frowned. "Wh-what?"

Rai turned away as she told him in a firm voice, "Until sundown." After a pause, she added, "I'm sorry, Kouichi."

Shock was visible in Kouichi's eyes. Again, he repeated, "What?"

"Then what are we doing wasting time?" Tomoki snapped, already working on the ties that bound him to Hideki. "We should be going! We should be-"

"No," Kouji snapped quickly, swinging a hand outward. "Listen, all of you, as much as I hate to say this while attached to my dreaded enemy, Hideki has a point. To walk like this, as ridiculously idiotic and stupid and-"

"TO THE POINT!" someone shouted out (and Kouji suspected it to be Kako attempting to mask her voice).

"Right. Let us-er, me...get to the point. To walk like this is training our minds to work together. If we can work with the biggest imbeci-"

"Kouji," Junpei groaned.

"Sorry! If we can work with someone like the person we're next to, we can work with anyone! Got it?" Kouji said this all very fast, eyes closed, praying he wouldn't drift off on another tangent. He opened one eye and drew a breath. "Uh...yeah..."

"Then...let's give it our all...at least five more minutes?" Kouichi said, looking around. "I know, it sucks. There's no food...I'm more hungry than I've been in my entire life, and the forced insomnia kills, too. But what was the preparation worth if we're going to just slack for the final training? Nothing. It won't hurt if we at least try for a minute." He drew a breath and then added, "Please...?"

Kanaye snorted. Seconds later, he murmured, "Kimura has a point. We're in, whether Fujitaka and Ritsuo...or Ai like it or not. And as to why I'm not mentioning Naoko...she doesn't complain as much as you three." Naoko just smiled.

"Well, the Kanbaras are in! Obviously," Shinya said, grinning widely.

After glaring at his brother awhile (with great difficulty), Takuya nodded. "Yeah, krill has a point. I'll be doubly in if you guys are...?" He smiled, meeting the affirmative nods of Izumi, Junpei and Tomoki. "Alright, the Kanbaras are quadruply in!"

"H-hey...why'd you call me krill?" Shinya suddenly asked.

Takuya froze. "Uhh..." he stuttered, unsure of what he said, and even more unsure of what his mistake was.

Folding his arms and leaning back to meet his brother's eyes, Shinya said, "I don't like it when you call me krill. Stick with shrimp."

"FINE. SHRIMP."

"OLD MAN!"

"YOU LITTLE-"

Takuya, in an attempt to strangle his brother, fell onto his side, dragging Shinya with him. "You little-"

"Hm." Kouji glanced at his brother. A quick nod was exchanged, and Kouichi looked at Kako and frowned. "Ah...about this whole thing...we're leaving you out."

For the first few seconds, Kako was quiet. Then, her eyes widening in rage, she demanded, "WHAT?" Grabbing Ai's arm, she stormed over to Kouichi, not caring that Ai was practically being dragged along. "What do you mean you're leaving me out? That's not-you can't!"

"No, no...he has a point," Hideki shouted, marching around the cave with Tomoki. "You're too weak."

"YOU JERK! SOME BROTHER YOU ARE! I'M TELLING RAI!"

"Ouch," Ritsuo and Kouichi muttered under their breath.

"YEAH? TELLING HER WHAT?" Hideki snapped, changing the course of direction to Kako. Luckily, Tomoki had forseen that and was quick to change course as well.

"TELLING HER ABOUT THAT LITTLE-"

"NO!" Hideki suddenly reddened. Stepping forward, he managed to place the weight on his free foot and lean over cover his sister's mouth. "Don't you dare."

Kako just smiled a little too smugly. "Okay! So long as I can go!"

"Uh...how about I give you some pictures?"

"What pictures?"

"Of...um...him?"

"Huh? OH...what? YOU STALKER!"

"Aw, but you two look so cute together!"

"I agree!" Kouji shouted.

"I double that!" Takuya added. After a pause, he added, "Whatever you're talking about."

Shinya grinned. "In that case, I quadruple it!" he declared.

"I septuple it!" Takuya snapped.

"Uh...I..."

"Yeah!" Hideki just grinned as he continued, "Isn't Ryuusei perfect for you?" He rose an eyebrow and continued to grin at Kako.

Staring up at him with newfound confusion, all Kako could say was, "What?" A few seconds later, more words popped into her mouth. "W-wait...you're talking about RYUUSEI? EW! Hideki, that's disgusting!" she screamed, slapping him away. "You sicko! You pervert! You idiot!"

"Ow! No! Stop! Ai, why won't you make her stop! Ow! You two are evil!" With Tomoki's help, Hideki managed to get a head start in getting away with Ai and Kako slowly, but surely, gaining on them.

"Everyone seems to be getting better at this," Kouichi murmured, sounding relieved.

Ritsuo just chuckled. "Keep in mind, Kimura, we've only got until sundown. Only five minutes of fun. We've got to give that our all, too, you know."

"Fun..." Kouichi collapsed onto his free knee. "Yeah...fun..."

Childhood memories, laughter, and noise...for once, Kouichi embraced them all greater than he ever had before. The nostalgia sent his mind adrift as his eyes shut, while he remained kneeled like that, the pads of his fingertips just touching the floor. His sight was an endless void of black, his hearing a mess of noise. I promised, he thought, opening his eyes. I promised, and I'll keep that promise. Please, please let me keep them safe. No matter what.

He only hoped it was possible.

-------------------------------------

The man paused, looking behind his right shoulder absentmindedly. Pulling the cap off his head and throwing it to the side, he sighed, watching as it fell uncerimoniously to the dirt floor.

He stopped and looked ahead of him, angling his head to the left sharply. Quickly, he dropped down onto a knee, head bowed.

Silence, sweet silence he had come to understand, was all that met his ears. He nodded, understanding every second of it.

"I understand," he murmured, his voice going from deep to almost child-like. "They will soon be here, of course. Even they would not be stupid as to linger around. By that time, of course, we will be finished." His head tilted up, and a sickeningly smug smile lifted the corner of his lips as he whispered aloud, "Chaos..."

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A/N-

Ahem. Yes, a lot of pointless idiocy (ONE REAL BIG FAT FILLER CHAPTER). Sorry. I said three chapters last time, but...I really don't know. It's an estimate. If I could get rid of the stupid parts...but I wanted to review the story. And you know, in all honesty, it was more of a 'keep on track' for me than the characters.

Whew. Finally caught up on answering reviews…(sort of). Thank you for the review- GemmaniGirl

Review or PM or Flame.